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This year’s summer camp, called ‘Magic Seeds’, gathered 13 families (around 40 people, with children aged 5 to 14) and was based on the theme of transforming emotions.

The group gelled very quickly as participants came together to reflect on universal values applied to their families. For some of them this was their third year in a row, so there was a strong sense of community and group work. The group was led by facilitators Françoise Normand, Nicolas Brun, Mabel Odessey, Hilary McMichael and Anabelle Gaillard.

Participants explored the theme of change, modelling clay and transforming it, as well as accepting transformation made by others to their pieces. There were also daily Tai Chi classes and lots of fun playing non-violent games.

The facilitators worked on a way of communicating in the family by asking each member of the family questions that they don’t usually ask and questions that would help in difficult times, although the consensus was that in difficult times it could be hard to remember to use them!

They also wrote haikus (a form of Japanese poetry) as a fresh way to see the wonder of the world, sometimes sharing them out loud or reading them in silence together. They received a small booklet so they could write down anything they had discovered and also put it on the wall to share it.

At the end everyone made a nice dedication inspired by the work of Creating Compassionate Cultures: blowing a word into a singing bowl and sending it into the universe.

As usual, our hosts Vajrayogini Institute, were very generous and welcoming, providing the use of the space for free, as well as free meals and accommodation for facilitators and constant support during the camp. This enabled us to offer the camp as a donation only event.

There was much joy and a real wish to use all the learning in family life, with some people already wanting to book for next year!